‘The Conjuring:’ Less ghostbusting, more spiritual warfare

July 25, 2013

"The fairy tale is true. The devil does exist. God indeed exists. And for us, as people, our very destiny hinges upon which one we elect to follow." - Ed Warren

The exorcism sub-genre seems all too played out - until now.

"The Conjuring" explores a 1971 incident involving paranormal investigators Ed (Patrick Wilson) and Lorraine (Vera Farmiga) Warren. Unlike the majority of films that rely on the overused "based on a true story" tag, there are concrete facts to back up this film's claims - a realization that makes this tale all the more frightening.

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Lili Taylor portrays Carolyn Perron in a scene from “The Conjuring.”

The Warrens come into contact with Roger (Ron Livingston) and Carolyn (Lili Taylor) Perron after a set of paranormal encounters plague the Perron's Rhode Island farmhouse. The problems start out seemingly small - clocks in the house all stop at 3:07 a.m. and the family dog turns up dead - until bruises begin appearing on Carolyn's body and a yellow-eyed apparition attacks the children. The terror continues until a bit of comic relief midway through the film. This quickly picks back up into a demonic possession and intense terror that does not let up until the film's finale.

The question becomes whether or not "The Conjuring" lives up to the standards set by many in the classic horror genre. As horror movies go, it offers little more than predictable jump-scares and eerie demonic overtones. However, "The Conjuring" stands in a separate league. The cause of the haunting is discovered early on, leading the Warrens to discover why the Perrons are being tormented. The film does not simply rely on religion as a means to rid the family of demonic presence, but as the driving cause and effect of the evil being experienced. The result - less ghostbusting, more spiritual warfare.

"The Conjuring" is not without its flaws. The digital effects used to represent the demonic presence, as seen through the eyes of the clairvoyant Lorraine, are lacking substance and are little more than black blotches on the screen. The Perrons seem to lack real character development, which leaves the audience without much to sympathize.

The film goes to great lengths to let the audience know who the Warrens are, which only can lead one to believe that they will be the focus of a subsequent sequel (which was announced before the release of this film). There is an entire subplot within the film - starting from the first scene - that works to set up the sequel before we are even introduced to the tormented Perron family. This seems a tad overconfident, but it seemed to have worked.